Bleeding instrument



- Aprilzs, 1946. A- E Emdcm 2,399,011

BLEEDING INSTRUMENT Filed May 8', 1945 MMM Patented Apr. 23, 1946 UNITED STATE Sv PATENT OFFICE BLEEDING INSTRUMENT Alfred rickson, Charlotte, Mich.V

Application Masili, 1945, Serial No. 592,546

I 2 claims. (o1. 12s- 275) This invention relates to an instrument or tool for taking samples of blood from animals such as cattle for testing.

in taking samples of blood from cattle it is customary to puncture the jugular vein by means of a tubular-needle and to withdraw a sample o1 blood through the needle into a bottle. The puncturing of the vein should be done as quickly and painlessly as possible.

A frequently encountered difiiculty in puncturing the vein is that pressure applied to it in inserting the needle causes it to flatten so that the needle may` pass through both sides of the vein. Another diiiiculty is that the vein may slip while the needle is being insertedso that the needle does not strike the vein squarely.

'I hese difficulties are avoided in accordance With the present invention 'by providing an instrument which thrusts the needle quickly into the vein and avoids the application of pressure which may cause the vein to slip or flatten. The sudden thrust of the needle is also less painful to the animal than the relatively slow manual insertion of the needle and less likely to give rise to diiculty in dealing with the animal.

Further objects of my invention are to provide an instrument for taking samples of blood from animals which can be used quickly in succession on a plurality of animals, it being necessary only to replace the lled bottle containing a sample of blood from one animal by a clean empty bottle, recock the needle and proceed to the next animal.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a front elevated view of the instrument, cocked and ready for use;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the instrument showing the needle in the position which it occupies in use Fig. 3 is an end view looking down upon the instrument as seen in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an end View of the instrument with the needle holder in position to release the needle;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view of the needle.

The instrument consists of the rigid frame I shaped to fit a persons hand. The frame I is generally oblong in shape, about 4 to 5 inches long and 1 to 2 inches wide. The drawing illustrates an embodiment of the instrument in full size. The frame may be made of metal or other suitably strong material. The frame is provided with the finger loop 2 which may be integral with the frame and serves not only as .a convenient means for carrying the instrument but also as a guard for the trigger 3 and to hold the trigger in place. Integral with or secured to the frame I are the open spring loops or clips 4 adapted to receive and hold the sample bottle 5. In line with the bottle V5 and integral with or suitably secured to therframe is the needle guide which consists oi the straight portion 6 in line with the bottle andthe two laterally projecting portions l' and each provided with a notch 9 for receiving and guiding the needle in its longitudinal movement.

The trigger-3 consists of the two portions II) and I I at a small angle to each other and the two Yends I2 and I3 which extend laterally substantially at right angles to the portions Ill and II through openings in the frame. The trigger is held in place by the end of the finger loop 2 bearing loosely against the trigger at the junction of the portionsk IIl and II and thus holding the ends I2 and I3 within the holes in the frame. It will be seen that the trigger is adapted to tilt from the position shown in Fig. l in which the portion III lies against the frame and the end I2 extends through the frame and serves as a trigger latch for the member I4, to the position shown in Fig. 2 vin which the portion II lies against the frame and the end I2 is retracted to release the member I4. This tilting movement is effected by the pressure of the fingers of the operator.

The rod I5 is slidably supported in openings in the ends of the frame I and carries on its upper end, outside of the frame, the laterally extending portion I6, the free end of which carries, or is shaped to form the needle holder I1. The needle holder as appears in Figs. 1 and 4 comprises two spaced apart parallel walls adapted to engage the opposite ends of the lug IB on the needle I9. These two parallel walls of the needle holder are provided with alined notches 20 adapted to fit around the needle.

The rod I5 also carries the thumb piece I4 which serves to turn the rod I5 and the needle holder against the torsional tension of the spring 2I from its position as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 to its position as shown in Fig. 4 to release the needle. The thumb piece serves also as a means for` applying pressure to move the rod I5 lengthwise of the frame against the longitudinal pressure of the spring 2l from the position shown in Fig. `2 to the position shown in Fig. 1 to cock the instrument. The thumb piece I4 further serves to engage the end I2 of the trigger 3 to hold the instrument in cocked position. One end of the spring 2| is fastened to the frame I and the other end to the thumb piece and is twisted slightly so that it tends to rotate the rod I 5, thumb piece I4, end I 6 and needle holder I1 counter-clockwise as viewed in Fig. 4 so as to hold the needle rmly in the guide notches 9. Spring 2l also serves, upon release of the trigger 3 to project the needle with considerable force from its retracted or rest position shown in Fig. 1 to its extended or operative position shown in Fig. 2.

'I'he short spring'22 V-serves merely to cushion the upward movement of the rod I5 and the parts which move with it when it is released from the position shown in Fig. 1 by movement of the trigger 3.

The operation of the instrument is as follows:

With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1 the vein of the animal from which blood is to be taken is located, the point of the needle placed against the skin of the animal over the vein and the trigger 3 released by squeezing on the portion II of the'trigger with the nger which occupies the linger loop 2. Thespring 2| thrusts the needle forwardly to the position shown in Fig, 2 into the vein; blood ows from the vein through the needle and lls the bottle 5 andthe needle is Withdrawn by pulling the entire instrument away from the animal. The needle holder I'I is retracted to the position shown in Fig. 4, the needle removed from the notches 9 and the bottle 5 removed from the holders 4. bottle is inserted in the holders, needle I9 or a clean needle put back in the notches 9, the holder I7 brought down over the lug I8 and the instrument cocked to the position shown in Fig. 1 and is ready for a repetition of the described procedure.

I appreciate that the mechanical details of the instrument are capable of considerable variation and modication Within the scope of my invention as dened in the appended claims. For example the bottle 5 might be shortened so that the needle I9, in its forward position, clears the bottle and permits the bottle to be removed and replaced without removing the needle..

= I claim:

1. A bleeding instrument comprising a frame,

a rod slidably and rotatably supported on said frame, resilient means tending to move said rod longitudinally and to rotate the rod with respect to the frame, a latch for holding said rod in one position against the tension of the resilient means, a needle guide on said frame, means on said rod for engaging a needle carried by said guide and moving the same along said guide with longitudinal movement of said rod and means for rotating the rod against the tension of said resilient means to disengage the needle.

2. A bleeding instrument comprising an oblong frame adapted to be held in the hand, means at one side of the frame for releasably holding a' tubular receptacle within the frame with its open end adjacent the front end of the frame,

a needle supporting guide supported by said front end of the frame comprising at least two alined notches adapted to receive the needle and permit longitudinal sliding movement thereof,v said notches being in alignment with said receptacle, a rod slidably and rotatably supported endwise of the frame, a spring connected to said rod and tensioned against the frame to urge the rod endwise of the frame toward said front end thereof, said spring being tensioned to rotate said rod, means on said rod for moving the same endwise away from the front end of the frame against the tension of the spring, a latch for releasably securing the rod in the last named position, a trigger for releasing said latch to permit the rod to snap forward under the tension of the spring, an arm extending laterally from said rod outside said frame and adjacent the front end thereof, lingers on the free end of Said arm for engaging a needle supported in said needle guide, va rectilinear tubular needle adapted to rest in said needle guide and a lug on said Aneedle adapted to be engaged by said lingers and to move said needle longitudinally of said guide with longitudinal movement of said rod, said means on said rod formoving the same longitudinally serving also asmeans for rotating the rod against the tension of the spring to release the needle from said lingers.

- ALFRED E. ERICKSON. 

